Pelosi was hammered on the campaign trail last year for being a San Francisco liberal, but in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY, she embraced the label as a way of showing her party's progressive wing she is one of them, before asking them to move toward the center. "I'm a progressive from San Francisco. I think I can have some credentials on the left, as a person who has represented a very liberal city," Pelosi said in Ferguson, Missouri, last month. "But you have to govern mainstream," she added. USA TODAY spent the day traveling with Pelosi in St. Louis and Ferguson as she joined Rep. Lacy Clay, D-Missouri, to promote policies Democrats are united around: expanding voting rights, jobs growth and cleaning up corruption in government. Even though the trip followed weeks of Democratic infighting and botched messaging, in Missouri, none of those issues came up. Pelosi is leading her most diverse caucus yet. Some progressives, such as freshmen Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., proudly embrace socialism, want sweeping action on climate change and are calling for a government-run healthcare system. Ocasio-Cortez, a social media star, says she thinks Democrats compromise too much and has been willing to call out party lawmakers who vote with Republicans. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi with Cathy Jenkins, the owner of Cathy's Kitchen in Ferguson, Mo. Rep. Lacy Clay, who represents Ferguson, is in the background March 18, 2019. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi with Cathy Jenkins, the owner of Cathy's Kitchen in Ferguson, Mo. Rep. Lacy Clay, who represents Ferguson, is in the background March 18, 2019. (Photo: Jack Gruber, USA TODAY) Fear of the socialist label Meanwhile, Democrats in competitive districts are running as far as they can from the socialist label. They want to focus on what they campaigned on: lowering healthcare costs, bolstering infrastructure and spurring jobs growth. They are also willing to work with Republicans. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., who co-chairs the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, said that in divided government "the key is actually moving the ball forward, which requires us working with both sides." Pelosi is trying to bridge those viewpoints. In a nod to each wing of the party, she says Democrats should fight for the "boldest common denominator." "While there are people who have a large number of Twitter followers, what's important is that we have large numbers of votes on the floor of the House," Pelosi said. Ocasio-Cortez has close to 4 million followers on Twitter. When USA TODAY asked how progressive members responded when she told them they needed legislation that could pass, she responded, "They're fine." "As I say to my own district 'you go out and elect 218 people, just like San Francisco, then we can talk,'" she said. Democrats captured the House majority in November 2018 by winning seats in districts starkly different from deep-blue San Francisco. Voters there backed Hillary Clinton overwhelmingly against President Donald Trump in the 2016 elections. In her reelection bid in 2018, Pelosi captured 87% of the vote. But at least a dozen Democratic House members represent districts that Trump won by double-digits in 2016 – and by 31% in the case of Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson. Pelosi, 79, is holding the speaker's gavel for the second time. She's the highest-ranking woman ever elected in politics. Her colleagues say being a mother of five and a grandmother of nine shows in how she interacts with people. She can be both "loving" and "tough as nails," according to Illinois Rep. Cheri Bustos, who leads Democrats' campaign arm for the 2020 re-election. Bustos has experienced both sides, as a member of leadership who is also from a Trump district. During every encounter in Missouri, Pelosi tried to forge a personal connection with constituents and activists. She held the hand of the employee giving a tour a children's health center and lingered long after the handshake in conversations with former prisoners. Later, she elicited laughs during a town hall including former prisoners, when she teased their teacher, himself a former inmate, after he compared himself to Denzel Washington. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi speaking to people at the Fathers Support Center of St. Louis March 18, 2019. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi speaking to people at the Fathers Support Center of St. Louis March 18, 2019. (Photo: Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)